On October 30, 2019 PRA Health Sciences, Inc. ("PRA," "we," "us" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: PRAH) reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 (Press release, PRA Health Sciences, OCT 30, 2019, View Source [SID1234550044]).

"Our third quarter financial results produced solid revenue growth and double digit earnings growth," said Colin Shannon, PRA’s Chief Executive Officer. "During the quarter we finalized a $500.0 million stock repurchase plan and repurchased and retired $300.0 million of common stock in connection with KKR’s clean-up trade. We are excited for our next chapter and I would like to thank KKR for their partnership. Our focus will remain on delivering shareholder returns and also delivering broad and flexible services to our clients. We look forward to continuing to position PRA for success in the future."

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Net new business for our Clinical Research segment for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was $669.4 million, representing a net book-to-bill ratio of 1.22 for the period. This net new business contributed to an ending backlog of $4.6 billion at September 30, 2019.

For the three months ended September 30, 2019, revenue was $780.7 million, which represents growth of 8.8%, or $63.1 million, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $69.3 million, an increase of 9.7% compared to the third quarter of 2018. By segment, the Clinical Research segment generated revenues of $719.0 million, while the Data Solutions segment generated revenues of $61.7 million.

Direct costs, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, were $389.3 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $371.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, direct costs increased $24.6 million compared to the third quarter of 2018. The increase in direct costs continues to be driven by increased labor costs in our Clinical Research segment and increased data costs in our Data Solutions segment. Direct costs were 49.9% of revenue during the third quarter of 2019 compared to 51.8% of revenue during the third quarter of 2018.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $95.5 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $92.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018. Selling,

general and administrative costs were 12.2% of revenue during the third quarter of 2019 compared to 12.9% of revenue during the third quarter of 2018.

GAAP net income was $83.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, or $1.25 per share on a diluted basis, compared to GAAP net income of $1.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018, or $0.02 per share on a diluted basis.

Adjusted net income was $87.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, representing growth of 16.6% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018. Adjusted net income per diluted share was $1.32 for the three months ended September 30, 2019, representing growth of 16.8% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018.

EBITDA was $128.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, representing an increase of 99.6% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018. Adjusted EBITDA was $137.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, representing growth of 14.0% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018.

A reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures, including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and our 2019 guidance, to the corresponding GAAP measures is included in this press release.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 Financial Highlights

For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, revenue was $2,266.0 million, which represents growth of 5.8%, or $123.7 million, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $150.7 million, representing growth of 7.0% compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Reported GAAP income from operations was $262.5 million, reported GAAP net income was $168.2 million and reported GAAP net income per diluted share was $2.53 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

Adjusted Net Income was $242.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, an improvement of 22.9% compared to the same period in 2018. Adjusted Net Income per diluted share was $3.64 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, up 22.1% compared to the same period in 2018.

Guidance

The Company is maintaining its 2019 revenue guidance between $3.02 billion and $3.10 billion, representing as reported growth of 5% to 8% and constant currency growth of 6% to 8%. We are updating our GAAP net income per diluted share to between $3.58 and $3.64 and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share to between $5.07 and $5.12, representing growth of 18% to 20%.

We continue to estimate our annual effective income tax rate at approximately 24%. Our effective tax rate may differ from this estimate, due to, among other things, changes to estimates of the geographic allocation of our pre-tax income as well as changes in guidance from regulatory agencies related to interpretation, analysis and guidance of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Our guidance assumes a EURO rate of 1.15 and a GBP rate of 1.30. All other foreign currency exchange rates are as of September 30, 2019.

Conference Call Details

PRA will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on October 31, 2019, to discuss the contents of this release and other relevant topics. To participate, please dial (877) 930-8062 within the United States or (253) 336-7647 outside the United States approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The conference ID for the call is 6427745. The conference call will also be accessible, live via audio broadcast, on the Investor Relations section of the PRA website at investor.prahs.com. A replay of the conference call will be available online at investor.prahs.com. In addition, an audio replay of the call will be available for one week following the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 within the United States or (404) 537-3406 outside the United States. The replay ID is 6427745.

Additional Information

A financial supplement with third quarter 2019 results, which should be read in conjunction with this press release, may be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.prahs.com in a document titled "Q3 2019 Earnings Presentation."